Fort de Vaux

En un regard

Le château en bref

Fort de Vaux, briefly known as Fort Dillon, is located in the communes of Damloup and Vaux-devant-Damloup, near Verdun, in the Meuse department (France). It was built from 1881 to 1884 as part of the Séré de Rivières system and reinforced in 1888. It was one of the key sites of the Battle of Verdun in 1916. The fort was disarmed in 1915 by a decree that also stripped the Fort de Douaumont of its guns, so it was a work without heavy armament. Its 75 mm turret was blown up as early as February 1916 following bombardment by German howitzers. On 6 March 1916, the Germans attacked; the village fell on 2 April, but the fort held out. From 2 to 7 June 1916, thanks to the heroism of Commandant Raynal and his garrison, the fort resisted the German 50th Division, but after very fierce fighting, the defenders were ultimately forced to surrender. The Germans nevertheless failed to take Verdun and, in the autumn, they abandoned Fort de Vaux, which was retaken by French troops during the night of 2 to 3 November 1916. Fort de Vaux thus became one of the symbols of the fighting of the poilus of the First World War, driven by a sense of duty to the ultimate sacrifice.